Teresa’s Italian Deli first opened its doors on the corner of 22nd and Brown Avenue in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1949. Long before the days of supermarkets, it was the mom and pop corner stores that provided the groceries that filled neighborhood cupboards. While the grown-ups were stocking up on the household essentials, it was the penny candies that kept all of the neighborhood children coming back to Teresa’s with handfuls of nickels. In 1953, the business was doing so well that the landlord declined to renew the Brown Ave. lease in hopes that he would be equally successful in running a grocery store of his own. As a result, Teresa DiCarlo Szumigala and her husband Ben Sr. left Brown Avenue and set up shop on the corner of 32nd and Greengarden Blvd. on January 6th of 1954.

Over the next two decades, the neighborhood transformed. As Erie expanded, the dirt roads west of Greengarden were paved. Acres of woods that once dominated the scenery became houses filled with new families. In contrast to all of the changes occurring outside the walls of Teresa’s Deli, little changed within. Whether folks would come in for a pint of milk, homemade bread or just the camaraderie, the neighborhood was brought together under one roof. That’s how it worked back then. It was a reflection of the times. After 30 years in business, things were about to change.

The rising popularity of supermarkets in the 70’s and 80’s contributed to the decline of neighborhood butchers, bakeries, and delis. Teresa’s Deli was sharing the same fate as many other mom and pop shops across the nation. Business was slow. Teresa had passed away in 1978 and Ben Sr. was ready to retire. If the business was going to survive, someone needed to shake things up a little bit. In 1981, Teresa and Ben Sr’s only son, Benny Jr., decided to leave the corporate world to try to revive the 32-year-old family business. With a personality that was definitely unique in its own right and a little innovation, he and his wife Mary breathed new life into a struggling corner grocery store.

Lunchmeat and baked goods were keeping the business afloat. At the end of the week, the bottom portions of the meat and cheese sticks that were sliced would accumulate in the deli cases. These bottoms would slice unevenly so they couldn’t be sold to the customers. Rather than being wasteful, they would slice up the ends, pile them on the fresh Italian bread that they had baked earlier that morning, and sell it as a sub. From that point forward the transformation occurred and the take-out business was born.

In the mid 1980’s Teresa’s catering services were launched. One graduation party followed by a little word of mouth turned Teresa’s into one of Erie’s top caterers with virtually no multi media advertising. To this day they rarely advertise. The success and growth of their catering relies solely on the satisfaction of those who try their food and recommend their services to others. It sounds a little old fashioned, but what could be a better measure of success than the satisfaction of those who trust you to feed them and their guests. Teresa’s Italian Deli became recognized by the entire area over the next twenty years and was about to expand.

On a bitter cold February day in 2001, Benny Jr. and his son were delivering an order to the East side of Erie when his son noticed a vacant building on 38th Street just East of Pine Ave. He suggested that it might be a good idea to expand. On the tail end of his own 20-year run, Benny Jr. was in no hurry to open a second location. With a little hard headed persuasion, Ben III got the family on board and opened the East side location in July of 2002. The loyal eastside residents who would travel all the way across town to Greengarden for subs, salads and catering now had a little less distance to travel. Along with his sister, a third generation of the Szumigala family is now preserving a concept that has strayed little from its roots back in 1949.

Most of the original Greengarden customers have passed on but the few that remain still stop in occasionally with priceless stories to tell. The children who grew up on penny candies in the 1950’s and 60’s are now grandparents. It’s now their grandchildren and great grandchildren who indulge themselves with the same exact fresh baked cookies. In time, maybe they will also return with a story to tell. As it surpasses its 75th year of serving the area, Teresa’s Italian Deli, its entire staff, and the Szumigala family would like to take this opportunity to thank the Erie area residents and all of the loyal families that have been with them for so long. They have taken the pleasure of serving you and your families and the loyal Erie Community for 75 years.